Guiyang, April 1, 2024 (Xinhua) – China’s 500-meter spherical radio telescope “FAST”, which is the largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope in the world, has received requests from 15 foreign countries, and has agreed to nearly 900 hours of observation access for foreign research teams since… March 31, 2021.
Sun Chun, the engineer responsible for measurement and control work at FAST, said that the 15 countries include Germany, Italy and France, and applications mainly include fast radio flux observations, pulsar observations and neutral hydrogen surveys.
After receiving his PhD in pulsars astrophysics from the University of Manchester, British astronomer Ralph Eatough works as a pulsar astronomer at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Opening FAST to the world means that astronomers now have the possibility to perform experiments that were not previously possible due to the telescope’s insufficient sensitivity, Eatough said, a prime example of which is the possibility of detecting pulsars found in outer galaxies.
Jiang Peng, the telescope’s chief engineer, said that in order to maintain the telescope’s leading position in the world, his team will make maximum efforts to ensure that FAST becomes more stable and efficient.
Currently, the telescope’s annual observation time is about 5,300 hours, and it plays an important role in achieving continuous achievements in the field of scientific research.
“FAST” is located in a deep, round karst depression in Guizhou Province, southwest China, and was officially opened to international scientists on March 31, 2021.
